Have you ever wondered why all of a sudden, we have to drink so much water? When I was growing up we had a glass of milk for breakfast, one of those tiny cartons of milk for lunch (and if you were really lucky and could afford the extra penny, you got to have chocolate milk), after recess and gym class we might stop by the drinking fountain for a quick drink, we got a glass of some sort of liquid for dinner, and once in a while a cup of warm milk or hot chocolate before bed. Unless you played sports where you exerted a lot of energy and sweat, there wasn’t much more consuming of liquids than that.
Why is it that today everyone has to carry around large containers of water and consume so much more than ever before? What has changed?
One reason is that we are far more toxic than ever before and our body is craving water to try to save our lives. This is what I mean….. When a toxin or something foreign enters the body, the body sends fluids to that area to swell it up with the purpose of trying to flush it out and heal any damage that happened from the toxin. If you have ever run your hand over some wood and gotten a splinter in it, you noticed that that area swells up around the splinter. The body sends fluids to the area to swell the area so the splinter can be flushed out….or “work is way out”. There are blood cells included in this fluid that transport nutrients and oxygen to the area to heal the area that has been traumatized by the toxin or foreign body. All of this requires water.
Today, our bodies are bombarded by environmental poisons nearly 24/7. As these toxins travel through our body they damage healthy cells causing cellular debris and cell corpses and can also store in parts of our body. Think of how cigarettes damage lungs. They kill healthy lung tissue/cells and the smoking tars store in the lungs causing the lungs to be dark and discolored. This is an excellent example because we have all seen the harsh before and after photos of what a healthy lung looks like versus the lungs of a smoker. Even though it may not be as obvious, this is EXACTLY what every other environmental poison is doing in the body as well.
Every time you shower with public water that has been treated with chemicals, those chemicals enter your body and bloodstream and circulate throughout causing cellular damage and storing somewhere. Every time you eat a store-bought egg you ingest chemicals that travel through your body doing damage and possibly storing somewhere causing additional damage, because it is required by law that these eggs be washed in chemicals before they are given to you. Eggs are porous and the chemicals absorb into the egg through these pours. Every time you cook your food in a non-stick pan the food absorbs the chemicals that the pan was treated with. Every time you use toiletries, skin care products, or cosmetics that have chemicals in them you are putting these chemicals into your body. Every time you eat cooked food, you create cancer causing toxins such as acrylamides, heterocyclic amines, and lipid peroxides which travel through your body, doing damage, causing cells to die, causing organs and glands to weaken and these poisons to store somewhere in your body. Every time you eat non-organic food you are consuming dangerous pesticides that are neurotoxins in the brain and nervous system. Every time you get stressed out this puts extra pressure on organs in your body causing cellular death and debris which the body looks at as a toxin that must be moved out.
The more toxins and cellular debris in your body, the more fluids are needed. Here is the need for so much water in our toxic world.
Clean fresh water is already a depleting commodity with the growth of our population and the poisoning of our waters. The healthier we get, the less water we need. I do not drink a large amount of water as I get my water through my food, in smoothies, and in juices.
Here are 2 ways you can get healthier and reduce your oral water consumption:
1. Stop cooking your food, or at least stop cooking your food so much. All food has water in it and that includes eggs which are approximately 80% water uncooked, and ALL animal foods such as steak, chicken, fish, pork and lamb. The more you cook your food, the more you dry it out as the more water you cook out of it. Well guess what happens? If you dry out your food, you have to drink more water to rehydrate that food so it can pass through your body. Have you ever eaten a bunch of dehydrated fruits or jerky and wonder why you were so thirsty afterwards? Because you need the water to rehydrate it inside your body so it can pass through your G.I. tract.
In addition to dehydrating your food causing you to need more water, the cooking process produces highly caustic compounds that you ingest such as heterocyclic amines in animal foods, acrylamides in grains and starches, and lipid peroxides in fats. The cooking of these foods has now produced toxins that you are eating, which destroy healthy cells which the body that then needs to send fluids to the area to repair and eliminate so you need even more water.
Raw or slightly cooked foods have higher levels of water that you put in your body and
zero to fewer toxins requiring little water for digestion, assimilation and the removal of the toxins.
In addition to the unheated raw foods having more water, they also have natural bacteria. We NEED natural bacteria to breakdown toxins and cellular debris in our body. This is one of the main ways our body gets the garbage out. It is the same way bacteria breaks down vegetation in a compost pile to reduce it to a fraction of its size. If you have ever left produce such as lettuce or a cucumber in the refrigerator just a little too long, you know it can be broken down to pretty much nothing but liquid. This is EXACTLY what happens in the body. Bacteria, viruses and microbes breakdown debris so it can come out of us easily through the different orifices of our body. Fear not salmonella, e-coli, and other bacteria. It is in us already and it is our friend, not our enemy. Killing it stops the breaking down and detox process from happening which causes diseases like cancer. If the garbage does not get out, our body creates a capsule around it and we have a tumor.
Examples of raw foods would be sushi, ceviche, carpaccio, kibbe, tuna and beef tartare,
fresh fruits and vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, fresh pressed juices (not pasteurized).
Or, if you are going to cook your food try seared tuna or steak, rare meat and burgers,
lightly poached or soft-boiled eggs, lightly steamed vegetables, or soups. Cooking animal foods in liquids produce the least amount of carcinogenic toxins and some nutrients stay in the liquid for you to consume when you eat the soup.
2. Eat Healthy Raw Fat: Consuming healthy raw fats throughout the day keep this healthy fat in your bloodstream. Doctors have known for decades that toxins store in fat so having this raw fat circulating around your body and bloodstream can absorb some of the toxins you are exposed to throughout the day, holding them and transporting them out of the body. In our world today, there is no where you can go that you will not be exposed so some level of toxins. It is essential that you have healthy raw fat in your diet everyday throughout the day to protect your brain and body from their impact.
Examples of healthy raw fats include, raw eggs, raw unpasteurized dairy, fresh raw coconut and coconut cream, avocados, raw unpasteurized nuts and seeds and their oils. Caution: most nut and seed oils are extracted using chemicals or through a process that uses heat. Do your research before consuming them.
Kimberly Lynn Williamsis a health coach and detoxification consultant. She is available on an hourly or per-minute basis to help you with your health concerns. You can contact her at: 424-335-9335, Kim@KimberlyLynnWilliams.com. www.KimberlyLynnWilliams.com